Human Services Advisory Board - Regular Meeting

Welcome to the 04/15/2026 regular meeting of the Human Services Advisory Board. I'm calling the meeting to order at 6PM. Thank you everyone for being here. Alright. Carol, will you please call the roll for the record of board member attendance?

Okay. Not here at all.

Present. Brian Lewis.

Here.

Linda Harper Williams. Okay. Well alright. Egan Carlos here. Sherry Pizzies? Here. Madeline Smith? Here. So we have five.

Alright. So with five out of seven voting members in attendance, we do have a quorum. Now it's time for the citizen comment period. Anyone is allowed to speak on any topic for up to three minutes. If you would like to speak during the citizen comment period, will you please raise your hand or come up online?

No

one? Moving on to the minutes. The minutes from the March 25 and April HSAB meetings will be provided to the board prior to a later meeting. All right. Presentations. Now we will receive an approximately ten minute presentation by the following applicant agencies for each program for which an agency has applied for human services grant funding. Each each presentation will be followed by an approximately ten minute question and answer session between board members and the agency regarding the program or application. Carol will introduce each presentation and keep track of time. And go ahead, Carol.

First off, we have Lindsey McQuiston. Lindsey, you should be able to be a presenter. Yeah. She's with Goodwill Central Texas, and she's presenting the program workforce advancement at San Marcos Career Center. And, Lindsay, if you'll go ahead and tell us your title. I didn't write that down, should I?

Sure. So I'm the manager of career services.

K. Thank you. Please go ahead when you're ready.

Alright. Let's see. Alright. Perfect. Okay. Everyone should be able to see, our slide deck. So like I said, I'm Lindsay McQuiston. I'm the manager of career services with Goodwill Central Texas. I've been with the organization for around ten years, and I have the pleasure of overseeing programming at our career centers outside of Austin Travis County, which includes our San Marcos Career Center. So a little bit about that center.

We opened in 2010. And certainly over the years, our approach to programming has changed to meet the needs of community members in in that area. We, really since COVID, have seen a number of of themes emerging and, have worked to address, the needs of of the community, that we serve. Some so some of those things include increased need for services in digital navigation. So we continue to see community members coming in either needing digital access, so they maybe don't have a smartphone at all or smartphone might be their only means of communication and tapping into the job market.

So we provide computer space as well as digital skill building opportunities. We've also noticed that individuals may have access to technology, but they need immense support with building digital skills. And so we have a digital navigator that we have deployed to our centers to support those needs. And then I think kind of the biggest change that we've noticed is the support needed for our community members and a lot of service coordination happening. So our our center has really pivoted to being prepared to support clients for longer periods of time as they are navigating the job search process, but anticipating that there's going to be more barrier removal needed as well as maybe a higher level of career exploration and skill building leading up to job placement.

So a bit about our workforce advancement and development programs. So we are really focused on development and providing employment services that are really aimed at removing obstacles so that our clients can really move into family sustaining employment. That service delivery model includes a number of things, and we'll go into more detail into these in a moment. But we offer comprehensive case management really focused on career and setting goals related to career and education. We have a career advancement team that works across all of our career centers providing skill building supports to to clients.

We have really focused on increasing support service access for all of our programs, whether that is through establishing meaningful relationships with community partners that can really take on referrals of the clients that we're working with, but also really seeking out either expanding our internal funding for support services, but also seeking out opportunities that allow us to provide more wraparound supports. We offer job placement assistance to to our clients, through meaningful, employer relationships, that we we seek to build, as well as job search assistance strategies, and then job retention follow-up. Career case management, really encompasses trying to complete different career assessments, our holistic assessment, which then allows us to really understand the client's goals and what coordinated services need to happen for the client to reach those goals. Our career case managers act as a navigator whether, for our clients to tap into internal programming, that we offer, across our department and organization. We do have our Goodwill Career and Technical Academy, which we have had clients from the San Marcos area participate in occupational training at that location.

We also have our goodwill tech program, which provides device access to clients. So our career case managers are oftentimes connecting clients to internal resources and additional programming that we offer, But they're also really embedded in our communities and there to make sure that they are understanding local resources that may be available to clients and then serving as that connector to to those additional resources. They are also really focused on highlighting a client's experience, the skills, knowledge that they are bringing into services with them, supporting the client in seeking out information on where those skills and experiences either fit into a current career pathway that they may be interested in or helping the client establish goals that are going to support seeking out a new career pathway for for participants. I mentioned our career advancement team. Our, career advancement trainers as well as our financial empowerment trainers and our digital navigator, are there to support clients in foundational skill building.

So this is anything from soft skill development, career readiness, career exploration, to job retention skills and, digital and financial literacy concepts. So our trainers are helping, clients understand the importance of of setting goals as well as breaking those goals down into meaningful steps and how then to sustain, moving towards achieving goals, once they have moved on from services. They also provide support with building those professional job search communication skills, building targeted resumes, interview preparation. Once our clients find employment, we want them to retain that employment. And so our trainers are also working with our clients to build effective communication skills for the workplace, understanding how to work in teams, but also independently, making ethical decisions, and how to really think critically and problem solve in the workplace.

A lot of that work is done through our career advancement essentials and workshop series, which was, which is a week long, training that we offer to to our participants. It's an opportunity to, move through training in in a small cohort. They're able to network with other participants, learn from one another while a trainer is facilitating some of that content. And then finally, I mentioned digital skill building. We have really worked over the last few years to expand programming in this area as we see it really supports our clients in being ready to be an active participant in their job search.

They're prepared with workforce skills, but also they're able to tap into resource navigation on their own. We have built not only basic digital skill building, but intermediate skill building as well. I noted on here, over the last year we built out more training content for our clients to understand artificial intelligence and where that might either fit into the workplace or their personal experiences as well. Some additional services to note, within our career center locations, support services have been, a large need for a lot of our clients as they are either navigating a career change. They may be currently unemployed and investing in their education, or really trying to slow down and find meaningful employment.

So emergency assistance for transportation, housing utilities, food, really gives our participants a chance to to pause, reset, and, have some short short term stability while working through our program, but also while starting a job. Trying to alleviate some of that stress while someone is able to really focus on settling into their new employment and anticipating those first couple paychecks. Job placement support. So our career case managers are focused on providing job leads and some job search strategies to to our clients. Across all of our locations, we work to establish relationships with local employers.

Our staff attend, job fairs, networking events. I'm really trying to, gauge the market needs, build those relationships so that when we have a client who is fitting the, an employer's needs, they're able to make those warm handoffs and advocate for for our clients and the skills and experience that they're bringing to the table. So our case managers are also providing application assistance. They will support our clients with completing those applications, navigating some of those next steps that come along with interviewing, and as I mentioned, coordinating with employers as needed. Let's go.

Paula, just break in real quick. We're we're at ten minutes. Sure. You can just sort of wrap it up a little bit.

I know

we'll have some minutes for q and a.

Yes. So program outcomes which were in our proposal. So this program will be focused on holistically supporting 64 residents enrolled in the program. 44 will complete career advancement training, 45 receiving support services. We're really looking at seventy percent of those individuals improving digital literacy and job search capability, and then 40 participants obtaining employment.

We're also really highlighting that we want the average wage at placement to really either meet or ideally exceed the entry wage that someone came in with. So making sure that we're providing that training support so that someone can upscale and move on in career pathways. Again, impact, increased job readiness and employability skills, improved digital literacy and navigation skills, accessing barrier removal supports. And employment is really aligned with the skills and experiences that our clients are coming in with, but also the experiences that they are seeking in that career pathway. Alright. Questions?

Hey. Thanks. Yeah. We can roll over writing the questions from the board.

So does y'all's board oversee all five locations in the three counties that were on the map?

Yes. Yes. So our organization board oversees all of our workforce advancement programming, our career and technical academy, all of our mission service, programming.

Anyone else?

How do y'all yeah. How do y'all leverage volunteers for y'all for this program?

Sure. So we really strive to create partnerships, certainly with with corporate organizations. Over the years, we have brought in volunteers to support mock interviews at the end of our Career Advancement Essentials workshops, hosting special workshops where our clients can meet one on one with volunteers and have someone review their resume, provide feedback. During our Goodwill Tech, programs, device distributions, we've had volunteers, pop in to provide one on one digital navigation support. We do also have some partnerships with financial institutions where they are coming alongside our financial empowerment trainers to provide foundational skill building and knowledge as well.

We do have, across some of our locations, we'll periodically have volunteers that are looking for longer term volunteer opportunities, and we've worked with those individuals as those opportunities arise.

Thank you.

Does anyone else have questions? Mhmm.

Okay. We will go on to the next presentation. Thank you very much for presenting.

Thank you.

K. I'm gonna make her an attendee. And then our next presenter is in person. You wanna go ahead and just come up to this You want me on this side? Yeah. The mic is right there, so it's all about that. Does

everybody have a pen and pencil by chance? No?

No. I do not.

You don't? Okay. I'm gonna give you mine.

Okay.

Well, let me give you a pencil just so it's not a sharpie on there.

Go for pen.

You'll hand one down as well, please. Thank you. Okay.

Go Go ahead. Ahead. Sorry.

No worries. I'm happy to wait if we need to wait. No worries.

No. Just.

Totally understand. Yeah.

So we are ready for. Brooke, will have had she been executive director?

Yes. I have a lot of hats.

So

Brooke, I have

to present the art of the so go ahead. And you have ten minutes to present, and we'll be ten minutes of holiday.

Great. So if everybody could start by making a scribble on your paper. Just any kind of scribble. You can do as much or as little as you like. Just take a minute to scribble around.

Elaine's already participating.

Good.

Good. Just checking. You look you know, a little casual. Okay.

She's worried you weren't scribbling. Alright. Now take a second to look at that scribble, and in some way, I want you to turn your scribble into a bird. You don't have to use the whole scribble. You can use pieces of it or parts of it.

You can add wings and beaks and feet if you need. Let me see what what you got there. That's okay. Birds look all all different ways, which is beautiful.

I

would love to see your birds at the very end if you would like to share them. I see that all of the different scribbles were done in so many a variety of different ways. And to just give you an idea of what we're doing, first off, you engage your occipital and your temporal lobes here. You use parts of your brain that scan for patterns. When you take a tangle of lines and you try to identify where wing or a beak or a or a foot might be or the outline of the shape of a bird, you create meeting meaning in an order of chaos.

Right? So then after that, you activate your prefrontal cortex, and that's responsible for planning and for logic. And so in high moments of stress and trauma, oftentimes, part of our brain goes offline. And by taking a moment to create chaos on a page, which is a scribble, and then put order to it, what you've done is you've switched that back on in your mind. Whether or not you've known you've done that or not, you've done it. And it's not just for people who are undergoing lots of stress or trauma. We often can switch off and on between those different modes at different times in our day. Alright. Then you have this moment. Right?

You had an moment where you were, like, looking at your scribble, and you're, like, I don't see a bird. I don't know what this woman is asking me to do. And then you're like, there's a bird. See it? Okay. There's a bird like this. I'm gonna put it together. And that triggers your nucleus accumbens, right, and the brain's reward center. And all of a sudden, you got a nice hit of dopamine where your brain was like, this is fantastic. I found a bird. Like, I might not be artistic, but I got a bird in here somewhere. Right? This small burst of success can be a powerful building block for self efficacy, for self resilience, for understanding, for connecting with someone else. Why people are intimidated by art is because we believe it has to be in a gallery, that it can't just be something that we can do for our own mental health. Right?

And this tent, the art tent that we're wanting to do helps people in the community connect to that idea of art, right, and using it in a way that isn't necessarily for monetary gain. It's not anything but pure personal joy and also to help increase their mental health. So this is just kind of a small example of a way and things that we do in art. I just I know you read the whole thing, so I'm not gonna tell you what you've already read on there. I'm gonna tell you kind of what is actually going on in our world right now.

And we went through a whole bunch of reasons why we think it's very, very important in San Marcos in the proposal. What's happened recently is that we've been awarded a grant from Texas Commission on the Arts. So we've been able to buy all the supplies that we've needed for the actual tent, meaning all the foundational things, the tent itself, the tables, the cloths. They've given us kind of a small funds to help with building community art. And so what we're coming to the HSAB for is to help increase that by increasing mental health and awareness and creating kind of a community hub for people to come in to talk about mental health, to normalize a conversation about mental health, and to talk to them about artwork, handout bags that give people small workbooks that they can take with them, that they can do either by themselves or with others.

They can bring those back to the tent, the art that they've made. They can engage in conversations with people about it. We'd like to also sorry. I'm I'm half I'm so excited about all the different things. So so we've got this TCA grant, which is very exciting.

And then the Art Squared Market director, Carly, has really graciously given us the space right next to the welcome tent so that we would always be located right where people are walking in. So that's very exciting for us as well that we have, like, an actual designated spot within within the market. So that's fantastic. I wish that I could have brought you pictures and data and been like, we had so many people stop by. But, unfortunately, in March, there were some issues, and it didn't happen.

And then, unfortunately, last weekend, it downpoured and created a giant mud pit. So we had planned on being there. I had planned on excitedly giving you, like, we had x number of people stop by and do this and do that and engage in the art. The idea is also to create a space where people can feel proud about their art. They can create something that's seen in the community.

And by doing that, what we wanna do is kind of build on the community our idea through the San Marcos Art League. The pieces that are created at the tent by each individual person will then be displayed at the end of the year in the gallery show. So people can know about their artwork and everything they've made can be in this show. To give you an example of what we were gonna do this month so you have kind of an idea, we have three different components that are going on. One is a giant frame structure with ribbons on it, and the ribbons merely say, I wish.

And then the person fills out, I wish. I'll make and write anything they wish for. And they stick the ribbon up, and then someone else comes in, and they get to take a wish and write their own wish and replace them back and forth. So this idea that we have this connection, that we all have to have things that we wish for. And they can be anywhere from, I wish from a really cold Coca Cola to I wish that my husband didn't have cancer.

Right? There's a whole medium in there of ones that we've already collected from 40 people to get started on the process. So we already have 40 wishes up and ready to go, which is great. Then we were gonna have a board that just says the word connect, and we have a bunch of markers and a giant canvas, and it's a doodle canvas for people to come and just draw and put their things into, kind of the zendoodle concept there. And then our large community piece of art is gonna be kites because it was April.

But we can do it in May as well, which is great. And each person makes a kite, and that kite goes on a giant 36. I think it's 36 by 30 canvas, so a very large canvas. And each is gonna be put on there so that it's kind of like we all we all fly together, you know, as a group. So that's kind of some of the ideas that we had as far as the tent goes. Let's see. What else can I tell you that's exciting? Oh, we have increased our partnership with Texas State University. We have previously in the past, our organization has always had an intern, and we've had volunteers from the MFA program. But we also have partnered with the sociology and social social work department.

So we're getting a lot of volunteers in that way of students that can be on come and work with the tent with us. We also have local Hays County high schools that are requiring community service, and we have several teenagers that are excited about coming, setting up the tent, working for there. We have a couple therapists that are excited, that do art therapy, and they're excited about helping us to design this workbook in a way that is feasible and not what's the right word? I'm sorry.

All of

a sudden, my English isn't so great. My art's fantastic. So so my English isn't always great. But to design it in a way that is very user friendly, for lack of a better word, very yeah. So I'm we're very excited about that.

And I believe that's kind of everything that's going on. We're hoping to collect emails, send out, like, a quick short survey to people, or have them be able to use a QR code to, like, snap a quick thing, upload photos of the work that they make so that we have this running kind of photo gallery on iPads that people could kinda see the art coming through that peep that people have made, and we feel like that also is very, very helpful. So I think that's that's pretty much everything I have. Otherwise, I would just be repeating things that are already in the presentation of the packet. So

We're right at ten minutes. So we have ten minutes for q and a.

So aside from the Arts Square and, you know, Texas State, what other community partnerships have y'all, you know, been working with?

So in the past, we've worked with different ones, but not in this like, mono mono amigos Mhmm. We've worked with but that was a partnership between our Hays County jail program and our program there. So we've worked with them. I'll be really honest. I haven't reached out to a lot of organizations because if we don't have funding Mhmm. Them can't really reach out and say we're doing this program because we just don't have funding to make it happen. I know several people in the area that are very excited about the possibility of it, and I think that we could definitely get people on board. But we haven't reached out just because it, yeah, it hasn't been

possible. Okay.

And I

just wanted to ask about

parts where that happens every month in San Marcos, or is that, like, every couple of months? You know?

Yes. So that's March, April, May, and then they take a break during the summer, the hot months, and then they come back September, October, November, December, and then start again the same for the next year.

And is that, like, the you know, I know they're obviously, in the name of, like, very hard,

like, focus.

Like, they Yes. Are there any other ones that are kind of, like, focused on, like, artistic creations or stuff like that in the area, or is that kind of, like, the one that's more focused on that?

So I believe that your question's asking me whether or not there's other tents tents that focus on, like, community art and things.

Markets that, like, you could be, like, putting a tents out or, like, trying to tap out the sides of our square.

Oh, well, we would love to do that. We were kind of focusing just on San Marcos right now. There are certain ones like the Dirt Dauber Festival, but they're more focused on clay. But we could definitely do something along those lines. We just have to, you know, enter, I guess, enter into them. There are several in Wimberley as well that happens. Some are curated, and some are not. We would it would depend honestly on the organizer if they would allow a tent like ours into the festival. So we wanted to start with the the Art Squared Market. Like, start be successful, figure ourselves out, you know, and then be able to to grow a little bit bigger rather than trying to do too much all at once.

Seems to not go well.

Are the summer homes from the arts fair isn't happening? Are y'all available at other locations for people, or do y'all just take a break during these months?

Generally, what we do is we do stuff at the library. We've done stuff with the activity center. I actually was just doing a class at the Dunbar activity center this afternoon for a group of people. So we go through other organizations to offer things as well, but it just wouldn't be necessarily the same variety, but they're still free and or low cost to the people of to the people. To all the peoples.

But a lot of people don't like to sit outside

Oh, yeah.

At a

tent in July or be walking around a lot, but it would it's definitely something that we do. Yes.

Any other questions? Any

artistic technique questions? Happy to answer those as well if you been struggling with a piece.

I think with that then, we'll stop here. And Okay. Thank you so much for presenting. And then you know the process. The the presentations will last through May, and we'll in June. We'll present to city council on July.

Yes. Sounds good. Thank you so much for having me. I would love to see your birds if you have a second. I I would love for you to eat each other to see each other's birds too. Right?

Yeah. That's nice.

There's also some web tree there.

Oh,

look at this one. Loving it. Loving it. It's one. Oh, that one looks good too. Got some nice wings on there.

Alif, I'll let the yours.

Alif, I'll leave these here with you. Also fun to do with friends and family. Just, you know

I made the bed sheet a bit. I may I'm I made them my squiggle water, and I drew a duck. So I don't know Cool. If that counts.

Lots of birds. Lots of beautiful birds. Right?

Thank you. You so much.

And our next presenter is is online. Kelly, I'm gonna need to be a presenter, and you should be able to turn on your Okay. There you are. And then did you wanna share your screen to do the presentation, or do you want me to pull it up? Either is fine. I can try.

Okay.

Let me see. Let me you you want me to try?

If you want. Like, I have it ready, but it might be easier for you to just click through.

Okay. Let me see if I can figure this out. That's gonna be the problem, Carol.

Bryce.

Actually, I'm gonna have to get you to do it because I don't know how to do it on Teams. I've done it on Zoom. Wait a minute. I might

be able to Fine. Yeah. I can bring it up.

Okay.

Let's see. I'll share my screen. And then see what's going Okay. Here we go.

Awesome. Alright. I am Kelly Frankie. You can go to the next slide if you'd like. I'm Kelly Franke. I'm the executive director of Combined Community Action Meals on Wheels rural capital area, and I'm here to make a presentation for our Meals on Wheels program. If you could go to the next slide for me, Carol. So this is Meals on Wheels is more than just a meal. We provide nutrition, safety checks, and meaningful human connection with our clients. We have a volunteer base of about 300 volunteers in San Marcos that assist with getting the meals prepped and ready to be sent out for delivery.

And for many of our seniors, this is the only visit they may receive in a day, a week, a month, and our mission is to ensure no senior goes hungry or is alone. Next slide, please. In 2025, we served 42,364 meals to San Marcos homebound seniors. That was 345 residents who received our services, and the meals support independence and allow seniors to age safely in place at home. What we're trying to avoid is, nursing home assistance because, the cost of nursing home assistance for most of our clients The last study that Meals on Wheels Texas did was 41,000 a year spent on nursing home assistance, and I'm sure that number has jumped closer to about 60,000 a year where we can provide meals to a senior for less than $2,000 a year.

The senior population continues to grow across Central Texas. I have a few stats from the Capital Area Planning Council that the 2026 area plan shows that Hays County had the highest growth rate of 53.5%. That's the largest in the CapCog region. The population the population growth rate for age 60 and over for Hays County showed a 93% growth rate. The report also states 18.9% of individuals 60 and over live alone.

The population of San Marcos, and this was world population view was my source, is 77,003 hundred '62, and 14.32% of the population is 60 years of age and older. And many of our older adults can afford to purchase healthy, nutritious food, and the meals do provide that a third of the daily recommended nutrition for older adults. They have a lot of our seniors have transportation barriers, you know, especially homebound. They're not able to drive. They're isolated, and the demand for those meals is rising daily more than the funding is coming through for us.

So receiving the funds from the city at San Marcos is is very needed. You can go to the next slide for me, Carol. 40¢ of every budgeted dollar must be raised locally, and not every dollar comes from government sources. And our funding through the Older Americans Act, comes down to the state, to the, capillary planning council, was reduced 10%, and they're telling us to expect 30% reductions by 2028. And like I said earlier, you know, we have more and more seniors, so it's not 30% cut, you know, is gonna be really impact our agency and how we serve clients.

Next slide, please. A 100% of the donation the funding we received from City of San Marcos or donation goes to the cost of meals. Administrative costs are funded separately, and we were able to track donations from every area. So city of San Marcos, we track so that that funding only goes to city of San Marcos residents. So our our finance software is able to track all the funds, where they come from, and how they're spent.

Next slide, please. We ask for a suggested voluntary contribution of $2.50 a meal from our clients, but many of them are on a fixed income and can't even afford the $2.50 a meal. And we never deny service due the to the inability to pay. So we serve everybody no better what their ability is to pay. And our meals are prepared by Trio Services in Austin.

They also provide the meals for Meals on Will Central Texas in Austin. So we share that kitchen with them. Home delivered meal home delivered meals, you have to be aged 60 or over, homebound, and limited ability to cook. A lot of our clients state that they're unable to stand to cook for long periods of time. We've had children of our clients tell us they forget to turn the stove off. There's so many factors, you know, for cooking a meal for them. And there are certain disabled individuals 60 that may qualify. Next slide, please. Hot and frozen meals are offered. So a client could have a choice.

They can have a daily hot meal delivery, or they could choose to get frozen meals delivered to them once a week. And then in that case, then we do make calls to the client during the week just just to check on them and make sure they're okay. The frozen meals can be warmed up just like a TV dinner, in the microwave, and we stage those from the three sites in San Marcos. We're at the housing authority. We are also at, I don't know why I never can remember the apartment, La Vista Apartments.

And then we, also work with in in conjunction with Community Action of Central Texas at their senior center. And like I said earlier, we have over 300 volunteers that assist in the delivery, and the meal does provide one third of the daily nutrition, and that is recommended for older adults. So all the menus are planned by a, dietitian and make sure that we meet all those benchmarks as far as the nutrition goes for our clients. Next slide, please. The funding that we receive from San Marcos helps support seniors.

It eliminates our wait list and expands our service capacity. And like I said, the need has never been greater. Our senior nutrition director is Noelle Buck, and there's her information on the slide. But they can also contact any of our sites in in San Marcos at the housing authority or at, the apartments as well as the senior center to find out about getting home delivered meals. That's mostly all I have right now, but, combined community action has been providing services.

This year is our anniversary. We've we've been providing services for sixty years. Forty seven of those years have been providing Meals on Wheels to agents to low income elderly clients. So we we've been doing this a long time. We have great staff that help our clients and work with them.

We're financially stable. We have a great finance department that keeps up with all of our funding for us, so, we're able to keep track of all the meals served. We report monthly to the Capital Area Planning Council how many meals we serve, and they also monitor us once a year. So they come and make sure we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. And we also have a yearly annual audit by an outside firm that checks all of our financial dealings in the agency.

Anyway, we do receive other funding, and we do have fundraisers. And we have one upcoming in Buda, which I know that's not in San Marcos, but it does help everybody in Hays County. So we have what we call a duck drop, and then we have a lazy river over in Buda that we're able to duck drop thousands of ducks, and these ducks race, and people are able to buy these ducks. And then whoever's ducks win wins the race. We have, it's been a lot of fun the last couple of years. We've do it in Buda and Bastrop, and it's a lot of fun. And we had a great time in Buda last year, so we're coming back. But like I said, that funding will help also help San Marcos clients as well. But we do a lot of fundraisers throughout the year. We have paint parties.

We have a casino night. So we are working hard to also raise money and not just depend on the cities or the counties. But that's all I have for now. If you all have

any

questions, I'm ready. No.

That picture didn't look like me either. They need to get me a new picture. It's kinda cut and dry what Meals on Wheels does. You know? Mhmm. We depend we depend on the volunteers so much, and they are amazing. And and in San Marcos, we have church groups that take turns every week delivering, so we have different groups. And and, you know, I've delivered meals as well, and it's it's fun to see the clients. And they're so happy to see somebody, you know, just to have somebody to talk to. So it's a great program. Of course, I'm biased. So

Y'all have questions?

No.

Alyssa, you have any questions? Look at me.

I just I just have one question, Kelly. Looks like the past four years, the amount has been the exact the same. So you mentioned your cost of going up. Are you just using funding from other sources to cover that? Or

You talk about our request is the same?

Yeah. The request that you can tell.

I I I I always hate to ask for more because I know, you know, cities are also struggling too. So we can always use more, but I just kinda keep it at the $15,000 base. But we do receive money from the United Ways of Hays and Caldwell County as well as Hays County gives us funding. So we're fortunate there's and, like, with our fundraisers, we're able to raise the money. But if you if you wanna give us more, we'll take it. We're always willing.

There you go.

You.

Anything else? Okay. With that, I think we're finished, Kelly. Thank you so much for Okay.

Well, thank you, Carol, for your help, and thank y'all for

Thank you.

Inviting me. Bye bye.

And we meet her. And then our next presenter is gonna be online, but they're not here yet. I think they were probably expecting, you know, the presentations going longer. So it's up to you, Beyonce, how documents heading back over to you, go on down the agenda or take a break or whatever you wanna do.

Let's take a break. You wanna take a five minute break? Alright. Let's

go. Oh, and all the sausages.

Alright. We are back from break at 06:52PM. Melch is right by the is not present at the moment, so we are just going to move on. And if they come back on, we'll just do the presentation then. Alright. Action items at the April 8 meeting after some discussion, the board table the following item. Consider the board's preference for enforcement of part seven, section two of the rules and regulations of the HSAB of the city of San Marcos and provide direction staff. Do I hear a motion to remove this item from the table for further discussion?

So

And a second? Alright. Motion by Ethan, seconded by Maddie. Carol, will you please call the role for the book? That's right? To open the Yes.

Yes.

Natalie. Natalie. So it's confused. Are you able to unmute? Yes. Can you

hear me?

Yes. Are you able to hear us okay?

Yeah. Yeah. I was just a little confused

Oh.

That we're tabling it indefinitely. I don't

Oh, we're removing it from the table to discuss.

Okay. Gotcha. Sorry. That's the part I yeah. That's what I figured. Yes. Yes. Okay.

So, yeah, that's four. Alright.

Discussion? Any?

I mean, I'll just say I was thinking about literally anything I wanted to do to this in terms of, like, what we can do, and I didn't really think of anything. So I was comfortable, like, leaving it in the hands of staff for when something comes to us for an exception or if something doesn't or something. Don't know if that

If you're not going to provide a new direction, I

would say we can let

the motion continue it like it is, if that's what you're saying. Does

that make sense for you? We're trying to think what motion.

Yeah. So I'm thinking it was just a status quo. So

It's because we're not planning to change it. Is that what you're saying?

Yeah.

Yeah. So the way it's written now then, does it give staff discretion of when to do things like make a call to someone and say, hey. You know, you've got some time. You're you're running out of time.

Let me share the screen. This is how it's written, Anna. So this is what I'll be following here. So pretty much similar to this year, I would be this is how I'm thinking. I would be expecting every application to come in at a a specified time.

We have been checking them as a courtesy. So if we do that, then if we run out of time, we run out of time. And then the cutoff point is, was it complete at that 05:00 deadline? So complete meaning every and question has an answer that's, you know, substituted, and then

it's been signed.

It's been signed. So in the case of what happened with and I'll forgive me the one. Southland. Thank you. That was more or less outside the scope of that because you did do some discretion and calling them up and allowing them the five minutes to get that signature in?

Oh, so the courtesy check so we were doing courtesy checks right up until it was signed. So I let them know, like, hey. It's not signed. You need to sign it right away. And it was, you know, it was almost too late. So then they they had it signed by, like, five or six. Mhmm. But because the 05:00 hour hit and it wasn't sufficiently complete according to this, I was like, they're gonna make it. The courtesy is just us going through to give them a heads up. They're responsible for training the application. So so, anyway, that's does that

So, yeah, so I came back to the board basically as a as a suggestion from your higher ups, if I'm if I remember the point.

Let them know. Like, I just denied somebody. Here's what happened. And then they suggested, like, the assistant city manager suggested that we take it to the board to see if it's to grant sort of an exception since the rules and regs are in your verbiage, basically. You could change

those rules.

There are rules. So we could change them. So so I guess that leaves use some discretion on how you wanna operate and at least us as a board some discretion if it comes back in a situation like that, what to do with that.

Well, I'll try to act without the script. So I'll try to adjust exactly as it's going on, and then we also add courtesy stuff. But and then if it happens again, it'll bring it to you to say, your simple situation. So Southside didn't request it. Was request about your I think they also re it was like, I don't know which came in first. I heard from Joe first that they did send a letter requesting. So yeah.

I guess at some point, it got to the boss and, you know, Well,

that that's why I don't ever wanna surprise my boss. Right? So I said, no. Makes sense. Yeah. But it sounds like it did also.

Yeah. I mean, I don't I don't see this as being a sort of initiative we can see too often. So as well, I don't see it all of them.

Well, what did when didn't they come to light last week that they've been behind or laid or before? Of course. So

During the orientation meeting that they

Yeah. Okay.

So it it can happen.

The the thing that I'm worried about is, like, out of those 12, we're gonna be, like, also

Oh, so we didn't consider them as complete because we still have a I think it just said agree to disagree or whatever. If they have signed it and they have all the questions on that form, that's what we consider complete. That's complete. And then it's asked us have the expectation. Those leave again, And people conform to that, but as long as they need one, they want this qualifies, and then you just it needs to.

So the so the so complete does not include So last week, I got the understanding. That's what

I was thinking too. Thank you.

And I'm and I'm actually comfortable with

that because, like you said, attachments sometimes come later. But the the application itself is filled out, the signature. And, you know, there are gonna come times when we're gonna get somebody that didn't get it in time for whatever reason, and they're going to want to have a second shot at it. So we're gonna have to be prepared probably on a tissue by issue basis as to whether or we're gonna handle it.

So the point of verification for me, the signature on the document, does it have to be, like, any particular person that be a patient senior or just any that, like, you need to close, like, the agency?

So it can be the person who fills out the application. Usually, it pours them on the higher level because it's certifying that what is on the application is true and that they'll conform to the rules of this.

Mhmm. Yeah.

Yeah, if the person who's writing, Grant can just kind of find it and explain it to him about this company.

Well, we ask for the person so the way it's worded, I should be really specific, is the representative deemed appropriate by the agency. So for example, in Southside's case, the person who filled out the application doesn't sign anything. It it's always the executive director, so she was trying to get it to the executive director.

Some will have different offices. Yeah. So

It's like Kelly Frankie, for example, she built out her own. She signed it. She's been a big a big director who was

Yeah.

So it sounds like we feel comfortable leaving the wording as it is and allowing staff to have their discretion. Do the things you need to do in order to make sure they're in and you feel comfortable that you've touched everybody that needs to be touched in that, and then allows you to go to your bosses and let them say, hey. Give the board another shot if they want to or not. But we can still stick to the lever of, hey. It needs to be in that x number of time and complete this completed application and signatures, which is what that is saying, I think.

Aliselle? Yeah. So my whole thing was with this is that these rules this this whole thing was put into place by another human services advisory board committee, like, at another board a couple of years ago because this type of thing was repeatedly happening by some organizations and not others, and this whole, like, what's fair and what's not. And so that board, as a body, decided on these rules, and it's been made very clear to every organization since these rules have been put into place, which Southside is an organization that applies every year from my understanding most years that if this has been available. And so, like I said, initially, like, these are the rules and, like, this is what we have to abide by.

To me, like, again, in the nonprofit world, I don't know there are there is no other funder that looks at the application beforehand and then gives the courtesy to let you know that it's incomplete. Like, that just doesn't happen. Money is very tight out out there everywhere, and so, like, the rules have to be applicable in all areas for everyone the same. Otherwise, it's like it's just an open and rolling call then. And it's not the same for every organization because not every organization knows that, like, if I'm late and they don't accept it, that I can then go to the assistant city manager or the city council or whoever and ask them, like, directly to then, like, help get this moved along again.

You know what I mean? Like and to me, that's not fair, and that's, like, very, like, like, not equitable, like, for organizations that are really, like, you know, out there get looking for funding. And don't maybe not have, like, the capacity that some of the organizations do, like full time grant writers or things like that. And so if another board thought that it was this important to have these stipulations, and and I feel like they are totally reasonable, then, like, I feel that that is something that we should honor. So that's my 2¢.

Ethan, this is your time speech. Yeah.

I mean, I don't have anything else to add. Really like, I agree. My main concern, again, is just along the line of, like, agencies coming to us looking for exceptions on, like, a broader basis than what it was the exception that we gave, stuff like that.

You know,

it was a couple of

minutes there. The next one could be an hour, a day, something like that.

You know, it

was my main concern, but, you know, I think us as a board and future boards will have the discretion to not do something, like, a group exception like that. So I'm good to look forward to move off this. Alright.

We need to stop sharing. And then I do see our people are here. So Yeah. Mhmm. So Mark

Question. Oh, sorry. Any other motion?

We're done? Because it's been the same. Okay. Cool. Wait. I'm so sorry I jumped in. No. We should announce that we're going back to the.

Yeah. No. That's fine. I can announce. Well, we're done discussing the action item, and we're going back to the presentation for Melch. Go ahead, Carol.

Okay. So, Mar, you should be able to unmute yourself, and I'm on to screen again. Schedule. And this is the trace. Okay.

Y'all, thanks for bearing with us. We ended the other presentations a little bit early and went on down the agenda, and so now we'll just go back. But we understand, like, you were set for a specific time, so don't worry. It it should not reflect on Melch. Like, they're Yeah. Schedule it out. And so Mark is saying he's unable to hear us. Alyssa, can you hear me?

Okay. I can.

It must be on on their end, but let's see. I'll chat with him. Sorry.

She

wants. Am so sorry. Latrice, are you guys able to hear us?

And Theresa's not the other thing.

Yeah. I can hear you all.

Okay. Good.

I can hear you. I'm talking to Mark and them right now. For some reason, they can't hear you all. Can you try try your mic at the office? Something.

Okay. Oh, wow. What about if you won't go can you go into my office? Just go in my office and and use my

We I'll just go ahead and introduce them while we're at it. This is Mel. San Marcos reentry program. The person you can see is Latrice. She's the executive director. The other two are the ones who have worked on the application. Mhmm. They accidentally filled out the CDBG application. They worked much harder than they had to. But now I think that's, you know, why she's trying to give them a chance to present.

It's Mark Horace and Robbie Bassett who have who have been forced to talk about. This is their second time to apply for HSAD funding. So and it got a little less, I think. So but they real they are asking for, like, you know,

Good evening to you all. I I wanna just give you just a real quick update. The staff is downtown on our on our downtown office, and we're having just a few a little bit of a technical technical difficulty. So if you all would give us about two minutes at at the most, we'll we should be squared away.

Great. Mhmm. I'll be Okay. I've already introduced y'all as if we were, you know, working on the technical issues, so please feel free to start.

Okay. Awesome. Alright.

Yeah. We'll get right ahead.

So today, you know, I'm, my name is Robbie Bassett. You know, this is Mark Boras, and, we're just, you know, explaining to you guys. We are trying to establish a San Marcos reentry pathway through our organization, the MLS General Center. We're asking for a $125,000, you know, to fully enable our program throughout the San Marcos area. So we're just gonna take you throughout the slides and give you a bit of information.

Why this matters in San Marcos? Reentry without structure often means barriers to employment, housing, healthcare access, and family stability. Case complexity is growing because many participants return with untreated behavioral health needs and synthetic substance abuse. The San Marcos opportunity is to build one coordinated pathway instead of sending residents to many disconnected services. So I'm going to introduce to you guys our five step program and what this program delivers.

First, we have release or referral. This is initial contact, eligibility, and immediate barriers between us and the clients. Two, we have intake and stabilization. This is a case plan, accountability, housing, and risk review. Next, third, we have workforce readiness. This is a resume, interview prep, job readiness, certifications, things like that. Fourth, we have health care and family supports. This is referrals, navigation, youth redirection, and family support. And then fifth, we have placement and follow through. This means employment connection, follow-up, retention, and support.

We'll see individualized case management runs across the full pathway from first contact all the way through measurable follow-up. Now I'm gonna hand it over to Mark to give you few more details, so take

it away, man.

Yeah. Thank you for that introduction, Robbie. My name is Mark Porras. As you know, I'm also an employee here at the Melt Center, and I wanted to take you guys through what exactly San San Marcos will get in one year if we receive funding. We are shooting for 40 San Marcos residents to be served during the twelve month cycle through October 2026 to September 2027.

And of those 40 clients, we're expecting about 70 to 85% to complete workforce readiness training, 45 to 60% of them to of employment seeking participants obtain work within ninety days, 65 to 80% to engage in ongoing case management with us, sixty to seventy five percent to receive health care navigation support as needed, and fifty to sixty five percent to complete at least one verified health care appointment after a referral from us. I also wanna go through why we know that Melge is ready to execute this now, and the reasons are, we have twenty one years as an organization in operation. We have twenty plus years of leadership experiments experience implementing a similar complexity to the program we're proposing, and we already have an existing model which we use every day. It's a set curriculum, staff training, tracking systems, and employer engagement, which are already in place. And we also meet the 50% of noncity support that the program will already receive more than half noncity funded monetary values.

Yeah. So now we have the operational safeguards, and that includes the SAM registration, which is listed as active. And program sites are described as ADA accessible. Interpretation assistance is available as needed. Our liability coverage is listed at 2,000,000 with written personnel and conduct policies in place.

We already have board oversight, financial controls, and CPA support, which are already identified in the application. And we have a current experience staff which are in place, and we are planning on having additional project hires, for further intake and social work and to also focus on the health care and navigation. And budget wise, we wanna go through how the $125,000 would be used. And the $125,000 could be 40% of the total program cost, and we're going to disperse that through, direct staffing and case management. That's gonna get $72,000.

Health care navigation support, which is gonna get $18,000. Workforce training and participant materials, which gets $14,000. Outreach intake in San Marcos operations gets $11,000, and things such as data reporting and grant compliance get $10,000. And, the reason we're here today is to request that you approve the 125,000 to establish the reentry program in San Marcos simply because reentry assistance is necessary. And now we are open to any potential questions about our proposal.

Alright. Thank you. And, Yomiya, if you want us to do August 3. Any questions?

Question. Hi there. Good evening. So on the initial contact, I guess, how like, what is the mechanism that allows that y'all to get that initial contact with with the folks? And then it you all said 40 residents are estimated to be served by this. And so, I guess, kinda along the same lines is if y'all do have this mechanism for contact, then did that estimate of 40 come from, like, numbers that y'all are already seeing in San Marcos, or where kinda did y'all get that from?

So, hopefully, you all could see me. This is Latrice Cook. And so thank you for that question, mister Ramirez. One of the, our initial focuses of receiving people is by word-of-mouth, one. A lot of people that are familiar with our organization in and around Hays County, Autumn already kinda seek us out, through places like the police stations, sheriff's departments, that are go through two one one to seek out entities that provide services for people that have previously been incarcerated.

And even if it's just a jail situation as opposed to prison, we still are sought out because there are not a lot of people who provide the type of services that we provide. And so we put that at a, pretty much at a forty forty count based on our experience from the past of dealing with San Marcos. Several and I don't know how many I don't know

if

Carol spoke about that or not, but we did have experience in the in the area before. And I don't really remember what those numbers look like per se, but they were within that about within that range. You asked a question about whether we see currently any is that because we have current people that are in the area? And I can tell you that we have one participant right now specifically, that has spent thirty years in prison from San Marcos was, was actually sentenced in Hays County, and he is a, he's of he's now pretty much in a a wheelchair type situation. We're trying to get him moved from right now from Houston area in back to back home to San Marcos.

And so we've been working with parole and stuff, on his behalf, to to pretty much coordinate and navigate everything about his, his movement back here. We were successful in helping, get one of the things he he he had went to prison for a rob not robbery, but a burglary of a habitation. And, most times when people are are are convicted of something like burglary, automatically, by some state statute, they get, labeled as a spin and and have to register as a sex offender, if someone was in the house even if nobody was, hurt or harmed or anything like that. And so, in in in the entire time prior to his release, nobody knew that. Nobody knew that he was gonna have that, you know, tick mark on him.

And so, we said in the hearings on their behalf, actually pulled case files from Hays County to to, support that he had not committed anything that was sexual in nature at all. It was a if I I don't wanna make this sound lessened, but it was a it was a simple it was a simple burglary at that time. And so he's actually done very well, doing very well. Overall, has done a lot of things while he's in prison. He's definitely reformed.

And a person that in his entire family lives in San Marcos, in the city of San Marcos. And so just, just to kinda give you some insight on what we're currently doing for people that are there because the services are not in San Marcos currently.

Got you.

Thank you answer. But

No. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you for sharing.

Yeah. I have a couple questions for you. Why why don't we have the tax twenty twenty four year? We will provide them the 2023 tax return. That's my first question on it.

So you're speaking about our September?

Yes.

So there should be we we do have our, nine nineties of file currently all the way current. For whatever reasons, some of the things that when the internal revenue went on that whole hiatus of they weren't working and this, that, and the other, a of things did get processed. But we have we should we should be current all the way up to 2024. I don't know what God sent to you on, but we do have a twenty twenty four nine ninety.

Okay. Can we can we get it notated on online, please?

Absolutely. And

so that's the first question. Second question was your wait. Hold on. So the operating budget shows 302,000 in total income.

Mhmm.

But the the IRS, only that they provided shows total incomes $9.02 and 47. So why is there such a huge jump from '23 basically to '25?

You broke up real bad, Jasdira. You said that the the operating budget for this year I I couldn't understand what you said.

Yeah. It shows operating budget of 306,000, whereas in 2022, it was 92. In 2023, it was 47. So it's almost fivefold increase.

K. So we were funded for 2023 2022 through 2024, by the office of the governor. And so on one of those years and I'm I don't have those documents or anything in front of me. I should've I would've asked my CPA to be here. But, one of those years, like, you get because it's late when they send the when they send out the first disbursement that it actually rolls into the the beginning of the year.

So even though we got a $225,000 we got a $225,000 funding, from them, it actually we we caught it at the because of the way the governor's office disburses it, we didn't actually get it until the first half of the year, if that makes any sense to you.

Sure. Did you go to Bobby, until I have the 2024 tax return, I can't believe you made too much of the. Because a 125,000 well, we'll discuss it. I mean, is it the special? Is there Question, man.

I have

one question. I'm sorry if I missed it. Is there, like, a particular length for you guys' program or, like, an average length that participants will be in, I guess, kind of just, like, the primary systems that we also program and stuff like that?

So, typically, when a person enters or we start working with an individual, that person just becomes a part of us for, you know, infinity as far as I'm concerned because, you know, even if we get them situated where they have their housing, you know, they have no parole issues, maybe they've been discharged from parole or whatnot, they can come back to us even after being employed and say, hey. You know, something happened back in. I had a child support case or something from long time ago, and it's kinda coming up. You know, can you all assist us? We we we don't really have an exit per se.

Once we meet the needs of whatever that individual has come to us with and we have satisfied that, we then tell them you know, we continue to monitor them, like, six months on six months after the fact, but they're always once a part of Mel's, they just all automatically just become a consistent part of they can always access our services if needed. So we don't have per per se of exit.

Anybody else? I

didn't hear did somebody else say?

I mean, I'm just asking Sorry. It's hard to hear it when you're on that end. I was just asking if anybody else had questions. Alyssa, anything?

Okay.

Okay. Then I think we are good to go. So we'll end this presentation. Thank you very much for presenting to the board, and you can send the nine ninety to me, of course, and then I'll get it solved.

I'm going to just end with this, and I I just wanna say this to the entire committee. To me, I I think that one of the things that we don't have enough of is services for people who have experienced incarceration and for their families. This this this is we lose we don't gain a lot from a financial perspective as an organization by providing services. You can it costs a lot to help one individual. It's a lot of work.

And, what is happening right now in our prison system and I just wanna say this to you all because this is a real thing. I'm a radio talk show host on top of everything else, and you get to hear a lot and you see a lot. But what was coming out of prison right now is a very scary situation because contraband is so bad in prison right now. So if people go to prison and they have never been addicted to drugs, the likelihood of them coming out of prison not addicted is or not having used is not likely. There is so much k two and meth in, inside the prison system right now that currently TDCJ is putting a just say no to drugs campaign inside the prison.

So the the need to have an entity like us working cohesively with in conjunction with other organizations that provide social services is really necessary. We are here because it's something that is really needed. These young men that are sitting in front of you all, and you all did a good job. This is their first time presenting, but they have this has been their first exposure to working with people with this with this ill. And I can tell you, it is it's very much life changing when you have to work, you know, directly with this population and their families.

And so whether or not we are accepted, as one of you all's new providers of service for St. Marcus or not, I can tell you that Hays County is struggling with substance abuse and people that have felonious backgrounds, and it's definitely a need. And so we just come to you today to just provide this service and try to help, for, families to have stability and support for their loved ones who are coming home. Because one thing about it, unless they get a life sentence, they will return back to our communities. And so I just wanted to say that, and I appreciate you all taking in taking the time to listen to us.

And regardless of whatever happens, if you all have anybody that you know that needs our services, you can always reach us at (512) 473-2525. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah.

Thank you guys so much for the time. We really appreciate it.

Thank y'all. Alright.

Thank you.

Good night. Okay. And back to you, hon.

Alright. So we already went through the action items. Moving on to discussion. Now we are in the discussion portion of the meeting. We can hold discussion among board members on programs, agencies, and applications for the purpose of verification, comparison, evaluation, and assessment. Would anyone like to open discussion?

Question for you all. Last year, the board asked me to get all the presentations from people. That is not something we had typically vouch for. Is that something you want me to ask? Because usually once they present, they just take

a little one. Like, we don't have a problem. That's Mhmm.

Okay. Okay. Good. Got it. Tell him any questions about the process that's been. No.

I don't need a motion to open the session right here.

No. Yes. Now it's not stopping. Start talking.

The first one I had was like, this last one just do rather than everyone's thinking for the first one. First one is the meal Meals on Wheels. Mhmm. The reason I asked them that question, because the funding has been steady, is that program is really good, but they've only asked us for a big 1,000, which is great because that means that they're doing everything they can with that big 1,000. Mhmm. Carol, can we give them like, can we suggest a little more to you as homeowners?

I can ask the city attorney. Oh. It's just not something that has been done.

Yeah. Because 50. Think that and right off the bat, this year, as we're going through these presentations, and system are being my priorities this year. You can think. So that's why you

sent something.

So I think we can decide to give them more when we go through all the allocations. Right?

I think you're changed. Something more. On the score.

More or less.

Or less. Because it's more or less. And Yeah.

Because we all put in our scores, and we all discuss. Right?

I think you should assume yes, but I'll just double check. That's a good point.

With that in mind, going back to our South Side conversation, there's always the opportunity to look at organizations who are late and say, you know, we let you come in. You came in late. You're habitually late. Maybe we should I don't wanna use the word penalized, but definitely reflect it in what they're getting, if that's possible. Because, again, if they're if they're doing it habitually and there's no recourse at all, they'll just keep doing it.

And I do believe there should be some recourse in continuing to come in late and put burden on the staff or put burden on us for that matter.

I won't be remiss to do that because they were doing punitive action in specific So until we check with the sand on that.

Worth checking with the sand on it.

Okay. Yes.

I mean, it is within our personal discretion to in our scores Yeah. Put in zero.

Two. Yeah. But we we cannot say that we're Of

course. Right.

Punishing transitions. I have some thoughts in that last presentation for sure.

Go ahead.

So it looks like they requested funding back in 2022. So they requested and thoroughly received 6,000. Let's see what the numbers correct.

That's interesting.

But they they they had the 92,000 That's and this is an unfortunate tax. So that's correct. That means that we for for the board that did provide 66% of their budget and 18,000 of that to the salaries, which is way above the 20% required. That's fine. Point number two, they've and the reason I was talking so much on the 2024 tax year, they've recorded revenue or losses the last 2022 to 2023.

2024, it saves us who they might have had a loss also. Even if they didn't, their budget the reason I was asking about the budget being 300,000 is that's playing it three times the highest one in SEO. But there's not it's for the I have been able to assist them too.

Have a question.

I have

a question in response to Sherif's comments. The 20% salary, has that already been established by that point in 2022, or is that something new that came up?

It's always been 50% of the agency budget. That's a state law so that they can't see that. Salary, I need to go back and look. I don't think in 2022, they had the limit of only doing 20% of full time. Mhmm. Back then, they can both fund as much of the positions they want.

Okay.

They.

I don't know she's social. For sure. Yeah. But we didn't implement that 2023, so it can't build here. Because I didn't because I didn't go on a loop thing like that.

Oh, council's increased. Oh. Council decided. I gotcha. At some point. But

all I have to say is that that lets organization to financial. Then what about them? Yeah. What about them? Is an audit requirement for the packet?

It's not. They filled out a CDG application, so there's more audit requirements for that. But it depends on the amount the level of funding for your organization also. Like, sometimes you can just do a review or you can do a whole audit.

Like, the rough draft application, they make below 50,000 and so they if I had it on there, they're not required to have a audit or whatever.

I know you got that stuff

under there on the top, but I just wanna double check and make sure I'm looking at the financials. Because, like, what you're talking about is that it goes from like, on the 2023 tax document, it's 92,000 for what's what we brought to in the current year is 47,000. And then on the twenty twenty fourth or 2025, it jumps up to 300.

Yeah. That's I think that's because that support? 2025 reports.

12/01/2024 to 12/31/2025, total inbound 300 Total. Thousand dollars, which granted that's mostly from the state government support, which they said it was, like, the governor's grant that they got for the first time that year. So with that, like, the 2024 and 2025 number being at around a 100,000, it doesn't seem that dissimilar to, like, the 97 figure that was in 2022. Like, to me, it maybe just looks like they have, like, a bad funding year in 2023. But, I mean, I 2024 is missing, so I don't know.

That's what I'm saying to you. That's what I said when I told you before, I can't get.

Other discussion, Alyssa?

Yeah. Yeah. It's about this has jogged my memory, and I don't think I have an updated drive. So sorry. And thank you, Yancey, for taking over. I really appreciate you. You're amazing. Thank you. For Goodwill. It seems from her presentation that the funding was essentially almost all for salary for these case management navigators.

But like I said, I don't have I don't know if I have their application. So can do you all know that? Because it is 20% only, right, of

You can do 20% of each full time position, basically. You can't the the counselor doesn't want them to pay for more than 20% of a full time

Every single

That's the deal. Yeah.

Mhmm. So were they asking for funding for multiple, like, navigators, or was some of what their ask is? Well, I don't even know how much they're asking for. And two, was it for any, like, programmatic materials, or was it all for staff?

Yeah. Got

their application pulled up once.

So they're requesting $77,209.05, which is 50% of their funding.

I can share my screen and show you the. Can you see that? Sorry. It looks like

Yes.

Yeah. Thank you.

So they are paying for 20% of their career case manager.

Second.

Well, if you look over to the, it looks like they've got they shouldn't have used acronyms, but CC, you probably don't know, but at trainer, supervisor, manicure. So those I think they're four step.

Okay. Thank you, Carol. Thank you, everybody.

Any other comments, questions, concerns, discussion?

I really liked rough drafts. This year, I really like last year too. Really hoping we can find money for them. Because I hope the. But, like, they have money from the arts commission and stuff like that. And, you know, they're starting out with people who isn't that nature as well. So

And utilizing the Texas State and Yeah.

Oh, I'm not facilitating. Oh,

no. I don't know what did to the wins. I guess I was deciding whether or not to say this. So I asked about the community partnerships, and, you know, she said that they hadn't really reached done any outreach because, you know, they didn't have materials. But I just don't think that you need to have the materials to do that reach, you know, to start building those relationships at least. Mhmm. But, you know, they're starting somewhere. So and they're starting out it's, like, perfect for them. You know, they'll. Yeah.

So I don't have anything else. Add anyone else? Moving on. Future agenda items. Does anyone want to request an item for future agenda? Board members only. Question and answer session with press and public. So now is the opportunity for the press and public to ask questions related to items on this agenda. Is there anyone for the press and public with questions

related to on the board, but I don't know if she's actually so either a second or. That's it.

Alright. Adjournment. Thank you all for participating. Do I hear a motion to adjourn the meeting?

I'm good. I'm good.

Alright.

Alright. Motion made by Ray, seconded by Ethan. Carol, will you please call a roll?

Yes. And this? Yes. Ethan Garland. Yes. Yes. And. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Okay.

Alright. Meeting adjourned. 07:45. Yeah. Good, everyone.